Bishop Spalding is a ‘true believer’ in Catholic schools

Nashville Bishop J. Mark Spalding greets students at Holy Trinity School in Louisville. He served as pastor of Holy Trinity Church from 2011-2017 and often visited school classrooms to spend time with the students and teachers. He was also a strong supporter of the school sports teams and could often be found cheering on the sidelines.

Bishop J. Mark Spalding comes to the Diocese of Nashville as a strong advocate for Catholic education.

“Bishop Spalding is a huge supporter of Catholic schools,” said Leisa Schulz, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Louisville, where Bishop Spalding served as a priest for 26 years before his appointment as the 12th Bishop of Nashville.

“He can make the case for Catholic Education. He’s a true believer in it,” said Jack Richards, principal of Holy Trinity School in Louisville. Bishop Spalding was pastor at Holy Trinity Church for the last six years and worked closely with Richards.

“Catholic schools give us a wonderful way of passing on our values as Christians, as Roman Catholics, as disciples,” said Bishop Spalding, who will be ordained and installed as Nashville’s new bishop on Friday, Feb. 2. “We’ve got to give every effort we have to make sure Catholic schools prosper.”

Bishop Spalding is a product of Catholic education. At the public elementary schools he attended growing up in Washington County, Kentucky, religious sisters were on the faculty, and he is a graduate of Bethlehem High School, a Catholic high school in Bardstown, Kentucky.

As a student, he witnessed “the joy-filled life and values presented in Catholic education and by Catholic educators,” Bishop Spalding said.

As a priest and pastor, he’s made supporting the schools in the parishes where he has served a priority.

“He’s heavily involved and visible,” said Schulz. “It’s very important to Bishop Spalding that our schools first and foremost be Catholic, that they have a strong Catholic identity.”

He also is a supporter of academic excellence, she said. “He works well in the community and the parish to promote that academic excellence.”

That is something Richards has witnessed and appreciates.

“His vision is closely tied to my vision,” Richards said. “We want to be excellent in everything we do.”

Holy Trinity was named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2017 and has been named the best private school in Louisville by Louisville Magazine, Richards said. “That’s really a credit to Bishop Spalding and his work with our parents … and his vision of what this place is all about.”

As a pastor, Bishop Spalding made a commitment to be involved in the schools he had responsibility for, he said. At Holy Trinity, he would spend an hour or more one day a week visiting all the classrooms and talking to the students.

“In our life as a priest, if you don’t set aside the time, it won’t happen,” Bishop Spalding said.

He also made a commitment to attend as many school games as he could.

The students and their parents took notice. “He always made time for our students,” Richards said. “That made them and our teachers and our parents know that this is something he values. His commitment to them was never challenged.”

“Our parents and grandparents want their children to know their priest and they want their priest to know their children and grandchildren,” Bishop Spalding said.

The first message Bishop Spalding was trying to send with his involvement in the school, he said, “was I take ownership of this school, not in an exclusive way but in a heartfelt way, like you would say, ‘This is my family.’”

The second thing it does is show I value the next generation,” Bishop Spalding added. “I want the next generation to know God loves you, Jesus is there for you, and the Holy Spirit will guide you.”

Bishop Spalding had two sayings that he constantly reinforced with the students and his parishioners: “To whom much is given, much is required” and “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. ‘Til your good is better and your better is best.”

He repeated them so often, and had the students say them back to him, that they have become part of the school’s culture and are painted on the walls, Richards said.

“These are things the students have taken to heart,” Richards said. “It’s made an impact on how they see themselves and how they see Holy Trinity.”

When he would hear students use those phrases at graduation ceremonies, “it touched my heart,” Bishop Spalding said. That’s what Catholic education is about. That’s what discipleship is about. … It’s something they possess and now want to share with others.”

The bishop’s involvement “really is tremendously important,” Schulz said. “It’s a collaborative ministry. People see how they spend their time. They listen to what their leaders say. They see he is committed to Catholic schools.”

As pastor of Holy Trinity, Bishop Spalding has pushed the school to broaden its efforts to serve everyone in the Catholic community. Under his leadership, Richards said, the school has purchased a second campus where it plans to open a school to offer students with special learning needs an education in a Catholic setting.

“One of the goals is to include more people in Catholic education and make sure we lead the way,” Richards said. The new campus is scheduled to open in August 2019. “The vision is it’s something not just for Holy Trinity but for the whole Archdiocese of Louisville,” he added.

“I’m sorry to see Bishop Spalding leave for several different reasons. One on that list is his ability to fund raise,” Richards said. “He was going to be a champion for this project. That’s one of his strengths, his connection with people and his financial sense and ability to lead that campaign. He sees a need for it. When you hear him talk about it you can hear his passion for it.”

“He certainly articulates his vision and values,” Schulz said of Bishop Spalding. “But he’s also very collaborative, open to the ideas of other people. He’s very collaborative in bringing other people on board.”

Bishop Spalding is still pondering how he can be involved in Catholic schools in the Diocese of Nashville as a bishop.

“Catholic schools, I want to support them in every way I possibly can,” he said, “pastorally, spiritually and by my presence.”